Health
In New Book, Chicago Doctor Offers Solutions to City’s Life Expectancy Gap
Who gets the chance to be healthy?
Dr. David Ansell argues that while everyone deserves to be healthy, not all get the chance.
In his new book, “Crossing the Gap: Healing Epidemics and Inequalities in a Divided City,” Ansell goes beyond diagnosing Chicago’s 10-year age expectancy gap.
Instead, he offers solutions beyond clinical care: namely, investing in communities.
“Another hospital doesn’t solve the problem, it’s deeper than that,” Ansell said. “It’s the conditions under which people live, work and play, and that’s what we set off to solve.”
Ansell serves as the senior vice president for community health equity at Rush University Medical Center, where he helped start West Side United. The initiative tackles healthcare holistically on the West Side of the city — bringing together healthcare organizations, creating jobs through hospital laundry services and encouraging local procurement for local businesses.
Earlier this year, Rush, community members and religious leaders gathered for the opening of the Sankofa Wellness Village. The center offers primary care services, regardless of insurance or immigration status. It also offers workforce development, youth and teen programming and drop-in childcare.
The approach was inspired by listening tours conducted on the West Side. Residents did not want more healthcare, surveyors learned. They wanted well-paying jobs, safe places to exercise, access to fresh food and places to go for mental health treatment.
“Yes, they did need healthcare, but they needed the other things that are called the social and structural determinants of health,” Ansell said.
The life expectancy gap between Black and non-Black Chicagoans narrowed from 10.6 years in 2023 to 9.4 years in 2024. West Garfield Park’s estimated life expectancy rose to about 70 years, roughly three years higher than the year before.
“We’re on the path to fixing it, that’s why I called the book ‘Crossing the Gap,’” Ansell said.
Contact Blair Paddock: @blairpaddock.bsky.social | [email protected]
